My favorite Greek restaurant is no longer, and I have an extreme craving for a gyro, what can I do?

Question

I loved their gyro platter, it came with four big slices of delectable gyro meat served on a homemade pita bread and smothered with garlic & cucumber tsatziki, with a huge greek salad on the side with big chunks of feta cheese -- delicious! but the owners finally retired and went back to Greece. it's the only greek restaurant around here, is there something I can buy in the supermarket maybe?

Answer 1

Find yourself a turkish restaurant...(lebanese restaurants would also have it)
Though neither greeks nor turks like to admit it, their cuisine is almost identical.
Shawarma and Gyro are basically the same thing.

As to the rest...you can buy pita bread in your local supermarket, and you'll find the exact recipe for tsatziki in many food websites here in internet, basically it is just grated cucumber, garlic and greek style yogurt with a little vinegar and spices...
For the greek salad, the only special thing is the feta cheese, which most supermarkets carry now. And some nice black olives, if you can't find the greek style olives, use the spanish, they are a little smoother and a bit less salty, but they are close enough.
If you don't find a turkish restaurant... Get yourself a boned leg of lamb, and roast it with some oregano, rosemary, salt and pepper...then cut off slices and make your own!

Answer 2

Yup, but only if you live in an area that has a big enough Greek population to cater to. There is a package of gyro fixings that you can buy and simply heat up. It comes with 4-6 pita breads, about a half pound or so of the gyro meat and tzatziki sauce. I used to buy the package up to about 6 years ago, when they closed the supermarket that carried it. All you have to add are the onions and the tomato slices. It is great. I am sorry, but I don't remember the brand name, but it was a product made by a Greek supplier. It was very good. Large cities most likely still have it in their deli area. Good luck.

Answer 3

You could make your own. Check out cooking web sites. I found a recipe for gyros in a Cooking Light Magazine. Basically you make a meat loaf using beef, lamb and spices. Make a yogurt cucumber sauce. Put it all on a pita and eat. Its pretty good. You could also go to the library and look in their cookbook section for Greek recipes.

Answer 4

Oh gosh, you're making me hungry! Usually that log of gyro meat is a combo of beef and lamb. I'd suggest finding another restaurant... and go there more often so they dont' go out of bidness! :-)

Answer 5

i know what u mean.we have no greek restraunts around here.but we do have a little shop in the mall that makes gyros,but they are not made like a trditional gyro.nothing like lamb meat when it is cooked just right,man i'm hungry.

Answer 6

Not knowing were here is you can buy all the ingredients from an import house and make your own. That is one of the easiest Greek dishes you can make.

Answer 7

gyros is also a middle eastern dish, go to any middle easter restauraunt and ask for gyros, they serve theirs in pita bread

Answer 8

Can't remember the brand, but have found some tasty substitutes in the frozen food case. Good hunting.

Answer 9

If you have an Aldi food store near by check it out, they sale very good frozen ones there.

Answer 10

~*~Try these!

Gyro's

1 1/2 lbs. shoulder lamb*
1 lbs. beef chuck*
1/4 C. dehydrated onions
1/3 C. water
1 T. salt
1 T. sugar
2 t. oregano
2 t. black pepper coarsely ground
1 t. cumin
1 t. hot paprika (cayenne)
1/2 t. cinnamon
2 cloves garlic minced
2 t. vegetable oil
butter
*including some fat 8 or more slices blanched bacon or fresh pork belly slices, if available.

Grind lamb and beef together, using large hole plate on meat grinder. Regrind using small hole plate. In small bowl reconstitute onions in water. In another small bowl combine next 6 ingredients and mix thoroughly. In large bowl combine meat, onions and spice mix. Add garlic and vegetable oil, mix thoroughly with hands until spices are evenly distributed. Refrigerate covered several hours.

In a small skillet, fry a small amount of the meat mixture in a little butter. Taste for seasoning and adjust, if desired. Blanch bacon by simmering in hot water about 3 minutes. If pork belly is used, blanching is not necessary. Drain on paper towels. Line loaf pan (8 1/2 x 5 x 3") with bacon or pork slices, covering sides and bottom. Pack gyros meat into pan, filling to the top of the pan. Cover with remaining slices of bacon or pork.

Place filled pan in hot water bath, reaching 3/4 of the way up the loaf pan. Bake at 375°F. for 20-30 minutes. Reduce heat to 325°F. and continue baking 30 minutes longer.

Remove pan from oven. Remove loaf pan from hot water bath and place on wire rack to cool. Cover with aluminum foil and weigh with about 2 lbs. weight to compress loaf. Cool to room temperature, refrigerate meat, covered with weight 12 hours or overnight to ripen and increase flavor. Meat will keep for up to 4 days refrigerated. Slice very thin and serve in pita bread with sliced onions, tomatoes and tzatziki sauce. 8 servings

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Greek Grilled Leg of Lamb: Gyros

1 (4 to 5-pound) boneless leg of lamb, trimmed of visible fat
5 cloves garlic, peeled and cut into 20 slivers
1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil
3 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
4 cloves garlic, minced
2 tablespoons chopped fresh oregano
1 tablespoon chopped fresh rosemary
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper
Essence, recipe follows
16 pita breads
Tzatziki Sauce, recipe follows
Chopped tomatoes

With a sharp knife, make 20 slits across 1 side of the lamb and insert the garlic slivers. Place in a large non-reactive dish.

In a bowl, whisk together the oil, lemon juice, garlic, oregano, rosemary, salt, and pepper. Pour over the lamb and rub evenly across the surface. Cover with plastic wrap and marinate, refrigerated, for at least 2 and up to 6 hours, turning occasionally.

Remove from the refrigerator and let come to room temperature. Season lightly on all sides with Essence. Brush a grill lightly with olive oil and preheat to medium heat.
Remove the lamb from the marinade and place on the grill. Cook, turning occasionally until the meat reaches an internal temperature of 145 degrees F for medium-rare, about 1 1/2 hours. Remove from the grill and transfer to a platter. Tent with foil and let rest for 12 minutes before carving.
Thinly slice the lamb and place the meat in the center of the pita breads. Top with Tzatziki Sauce and chopped tomatoes, and serve.

Essence (Emeril's Creole Seasoning):
2 1/2 tablespoons paprika
2 tablespoons salt
2 tablespoons garlic powder
1 tablespoon black pepper
1 tablespoon onion powder
1 tablespoon cayenne pepper
1 tablespoon dried leaf oregano
1 tablespoon dried thyme

Combine all ingredients thoroughly and store in an airtight jar or container.
Yield: about 2/3 cup

Tzatziki Sauce:
1 medium cucumber, peeled, seeded and finely chopped
1 cup plain yogurt
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 teaspoon lemon juice or white wine vinegar
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon oregano
1 teaspoon minced garlic

In a medium bowl combine all the ingredients and chill for at least 1 hour to allow the flavors to marry.